FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT GAMING TABLES - PAGE 2

"Give me the hard ways." "Any crap." "Press six." The bets were flying, the chips clicking and the dice rolling in Bahia Mar`s ballroom Saturday night. Almost 200 guests crowded the gaming tables playing "funny-money" roulette, blackjack or craps at the Women`s Executive Club`s Monte Carlo Night. "I always win when I play with funny money," said Judy Langley. Her pal Josie Caito nodded. "I never lose," she said. "I make millions." When raking in all those chips palled, guests could switch from gaming tables to buffet tables.

Panama is upping its ante as a travel destination: The developer of the Trump hotel and tower in Panama's capital said South Africa's Sun International will invest $105 million at the property to add a casino by mid-2014. The new casino at the Trump Ocean Club will have its own lobby and feature 600 slot machines, 32 gaming tables, a restaurant and a lounge area. It also will have exclsuive areas for top clients. The 70-story Trump Ocean Club includes residences, a hotel, restaurants, fitness center, five pools, retail and other amenities.

A "Cruise on the High Seas" has been planned for Saturday by Catholic Community Services to help raise money for children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. The Discovery Lines cruise will depart Port Everglades at 8:30 a.m. and return by 4:30 p.m. The cost of $50 for adults and $25 for children and teens under 16 will include a buffet breakfast and buffet lunch, a celebrity sports item auction, games, shows and entertainment. For more information, call the Child Welfare Division of Catholic Community Services at (305)

"The Sirens of TI" sounds like a security breach at a semiconductor plant. But on the Las Vegas Strip, the only things being breached are the boundaries of taste, as the signature outdoor show at the Treasure Island casino gets a makeover with a new name, a new cast and a salacious new twist. Seems a troupe of salty "Sirens" has hijacked Treasure Island's kid-friendly pirate show. Ships still sink. Cannons still roar. But now the bad guys are bad girls, a band of barely clothed yo-ho-hos vamping to a thunderous hip-hop beat.

The city is expected to apply for a $100,000 federal grant next month for improvements at Southeast Park, 655 SW 50th Ave. The improvements include two picnic shelters, 25 parking spots, trees and shrubbery, restroom renovations and wheelchair accessible playground equipment. Residents can discuss improvements at a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Margate Community Center, 6199 NW 10th St. Jeff Skidmore, the city's director of Parks and Recreation, said the work will begin in the fall of 1997 if the city receives the grant.

PLANTATION Bonsai Society to meet Saturday The Gold Coast Bonsai Society will meet at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the Plantation Community Center, 5555 Palm Tree Road. For more information, call 954-630-8365. Casino Night to benefit charity Reservations are required for the April 17 Casino Night benefiting Make-A-Wish of Southern Florida. Sponsored by the Plantation Junior Woman's Club, the event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Hotel, 1230 S. Pine Island Road. Festivities include the gaming tables, live and silent auctions, a raffle and a buffet dinner and open bar. Tickets are $100.

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Police and state beverage agents raided a northwest-area club early Saturday, arresting the operator and his staff on illegal gambling charges. The raid at First Class Club, 1567 Sistrunk Blvd., occurred at 1 a.m. after an undercover officer slipped into the establishment posing as a gambler. Police spokesman Ott Cefkin said club operators had been warned about gambling. Club President Hardy McSwain, 44, was arrested in the raid. He was charged with keeping a gambling house, the unlicensed sale of alcoholic beverages and conspiracy to violate beverage laws.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Kenneth Uston, an internationally known card counter who used the state`s courts to stop casinos from banning the good players, has been found dead in his Paris apartment, his sister said on Tuesday. He was 52. Mr. Uston`s sister, Lynn Usui, confirmed that her brother was found dead in his Paris apartment on Sept. 19. She said French authorities have ruled out foul play and said the death appeared to be a result of natural causes. Mr. Uston was famous for being so proficient at keeping track of cards in the game of blackjack that casinos around the world barred him from playing the game.

The East Broward Auxiliary of the Children's Home Society is planning to hold its annual Black Tie Ball at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Hotel & Marina, 1881 SE 17th St. Tickets are $150, and corporate tables are available. All are welcome to attend and all proceeds will directly fund the services the home society provides to abused and neglected children and their families. The money will support the I. Lorraine Thomas Emergency Shelter, which houses 25 children and provides more than 15 programs and more than 60 foster homes.

The party was a smash, even though eight of Fort Lauderdale's 1993 debs got traffic tickets putting it together. When driving over to the Swap Shop to plot it, they all made U-turns to get to the parking lot. Only, they're illegal. Whoops! And these kids are not wacko drivers. They're top students, leaders, accomplishers. The tickets were a shocker. But that didn't stop them from staging their "Debs Take Las Vegas by Surprise," party Saturday night. Wait a sec. Las Vegas at the Swap Shop?